Women's and Gender Studies

Feminist scholarship, which arose in the late twentieth century in response to the historically masculine bias of the academy, explores the important but often hidden ways that gender and gender inequality have shaped, and been shaped by, our cultural, social, and personal worlds. In recent years, scholars in the field have increasingly recognized that gender and gender inequality cannot be understood in abstraction from other axes of social identity and power, especially those of race, class, sexual orientation, and nation. Thus, the program in Women's and Gender Studies offers students the opportunity to examine, from both disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, gender's intersections with other dimensions of social power and identity. In addition to addressing these intersections, courses may focus on developments within feminist thought, on applications of feminist scholarship to a particular field of study, or on selected topics concerning gender and gender inequality. All Women's and Gender Studies classes encourage students to think systematically and critically about gender and to confront the challenges of moving toward a more equitable world.

Structure of the Program

Courses counting towards the Women's and Gender Studies Major and Minor fall into one of three groups.

Group A: Basic courses focusing on traditions of feminist thought or activism

• WGS 245 Feminism, Gender, and Society (1)
• WGS 342 Topics in Feminist Analysis (1)*
• WGS 353 (W) Feminist Theory (1)
• WGS 390 Independent Study in Women's and Gender Studies (1)*
• WGS 499 Senior Thesis (1)

Group B: Courses that emphasize the intersection of gender with some other axis of social power or identity

• ENGL 438 Literature and Sexuality (1)
• RHET 350 Race, Gender, and the Public Sphere (1)
• SOC 324 Gender and Development (1)
• SOC 358 Special Topics in Sociology (.5 or 1)
• WGS 342 Topics in Feminist Analysis (1)*
• WGS 390 Independent Study in Women's and Gender Studies*

Group C: Courses that examine particular disciplines or issues from feminist perspectives as well as other relevant courses on gender or women

• ANTH 345 Sex and Gender in Anthropological Perspective (1)
• CLAS 247 (IT; 4th Sem) Women in Roman Literature and Life (1)
• CLAS 260 (IT; 4th Sem) Gender and Sexuality in Greek Society (1) [Crosslisted with
• WGS 260]
• ENGL 355 (W) Feminist Criticism (1)
• FREN 437 (IT) Female Voices in African Literature and Film (1)
• HIST 262 American Women's History (1)
• IDS 260 (NW; W) Women Naturalists of the Western Americas (1)
• PHIL 335 History, Sexuality, and Power
• POLI 351 Women in American Politics (1)
• PSYC 354 (US) Psychology of Women and Gender (1)
• REL 336 Women in World Religion (1)
• RHET 355 (US) Gender and Communication (1)
• SOC 121 (W) Gender Roles in Society (1)
• SOC 358 Special Topics in Sociology (.5 or 1)
• SPAN 435 Contemporary Latin American Women Writers (1)
• SPAN 438 Contemporary Spanish Women Writers (1)
• WGS 256 (IT) Goddesses and Ghosts: Images of Women in Chinese Traditions (1)
• WGS 258 Women in the Arts (1)
• WGS 336 Philosophy and Feminism (1)
• WGS 342 Topics in Feminist Analysis* (1)
• WGS 351 (W) Women in American Politics (1)
• WGS 390 Independent Study in Women's and Gender Studies (1)*

* WGS 342 and WGS 390 will count as Group A, B, or C depending on the specific topics studied.

Requirements for the Women's and Gender Studies Program Major (8 Credits)

Students will complete eight courses, including:

• WGS 353 (W) Feminist Theory (1)
• WGS 499 Senior Thesis (1)
• One course from Group B
• An additional course from either Group A or Group B
• Any four electives from Group A, B, or C which can include up to two courses by petition**

** Courses that may be counted by petition for the major are those that are offered one time only or have variable emphasis but that, in a given semester, focus on scholarship in Women's and Gender Studies.

Requirements for the Women's and Gender Studies Program Minor (5 Credits)

Students will complete five courses, including:

• WGS 353 (W) Feminist Theory (1)
• One course from Group B
• One additional course from Group A or Group B
• Two additional courses from Group A, B, or C which can include one course by petition**

** Courses that may be counted toward the minor by petition are those that are given one time only or have variable emphases but which, in a given semester, focus on the analysis of gender and gender inequality and which draw on current scholarship in Women�s Studies.

Faculty

• Mary R. Bachvarova, Assistant Professor of Classics
• Alison Butler, Assistant Professor of Economics
• Emily Drew, Assistant Professor of Sociology and American Ethnic Studies
• Marva Duerksen, Assistant Professor of Music
• Leslie Dunlap, Assistant Professor of History
• Meredyth Goldberg Edelson, Professor of Psychology
• Ortwin Knorr, Associate Professor of Classics
• Carol S. Long, Professor of English, and Dean, College of Liberal Arts
• Sally Markowitz, Professor of Philosophy
• Cecily McCaffrey, Assistant Professor of History
• Melissa Buis Michaux, Associate Professor of Politics
• Frann Michel, Associate Professor of English
• Pamela A. Moro, Professor of Anthropology
• April Overstreet, Associate Professor of Spanish
• Wendy Boring Petersen, Assistant Professor of History
• Sharon L. Rose, Professor of Biology
• Rachel Kinsman Steck, Assistant Professor of Theater
• Patricia E. Varas, Professor of Spanish
• Xijuan Joanna Zhou, Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Course Listings